It was my really foolish supposition that the Web was a bit like the old time Public Square. A place for discussion, a local where minds could collide, and learn from each other… It was in that sunny square that ironic political speech was born. Or are you going to argue that Mr. Moran’s post of 06/01/08, titled: A LITTLE ALTERNATE HISTORY: ‘HOPKINS SLAMS FDR IN NEW BOOK’ is a marvelous and insightful exposition of a book describing the FDR Presidency?

In view of the fact that it is late at night, I will answer the question that the man with handle bar mustache posed:

(1) I do believe it was John McCain who apologized to the Great State of West Virginia for implying that their state population did a tab bit of “interbreedin’ ”. Obama never made such a statement, as most high school students could tell you…

(2) I do believe Mr. Moran’s finger slipped at the key board when he wrote “that we are a bunch of red state goober chewin’…(etc). There we have to go to middle school, for that age group has an affinity to body parts and body function jokes. Check out Urban Dictionary, or a Web search engine. If you are from a red state, you really do not want to chew on a goober, I do believe Mr. Moran’s magic finders meant booger… Ah yes, from such transpositions are fun bones tickled…

I remain hopeful that Mr. Moran will discuss Health Care. Surely he knows that if he drags a box into the Public Square and mentions Health Care, with a sneering glance to Hillary or Obama, he has to present some solution to the problems we face…

1. I do believe it was Dick Cheney who mentioned incest in W. VA. But that's alright since like members of another race, all Republicans look the same to you.

2. A "goober" is a pea - as in "Eatin' Goober Peas" which was a famous Civil War song and as in "pea brain" which describes the exact amount of gray matter you carry around in your skull. And where in God's name you see "body function jokes" in the post above, I can't imagine - unless your body works a little differently than the rest of us.

3. As for health care: http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archives/2008/02/12/mandate-me-baby/

ed.

Comment Posted By Our Paul On 6.06.2008 @ 00:11

If there are any middle or high school teachers out there, I would suggest they present the following quotation to their students, and ask them why it is so funny:

“That utterance placed her firmly on one side of the great cultural chasm that the man who vanquished her now promises to bridge. From what I can gather, the way Barack Obama intends to do this is by showing the rest of us that we are a bunch of red state goober chewin’, tobacco spittin’, flag wavin’, gun carryin’, bible thumpin’, interbreedin’ morons who cling to religion and hate the coloreds because we have yet to have experienced the healing powers of the messiah-lite.”

In the mean time, perhaps Rick Moran, or others would care to define what exactly is meant by “Socialized Medicine”, or why “National Health Insurance” poses such a threat the “red state, goober chewin, tobacco spittin…”

Woops, almost gave one of the fun bone ticklers away, found in the full quotation, above. (So R.P. are you implying more than one fun bone in the full quotation? Asked the man with the tobacco stained handle bar mustache).

And so Rick, sooner or later you will have to defend McCain’s Health Care Plan. Keep in mind that Health Care is among the top three concerns when the voting American Public, is polled…

Two things about Obama have always puzzled me; (1) The elegant hard edge his campaign has in their rapid response to criticism and personal attack. (2) How his political organization has maintained tight control over what many have describe as a bottom up (A.K.A. distributed) structure.

Partial answers may be found in your link to Ryan Lizza article, titled “The Agitator” published 03/19/07 in The New Republic. It was a shame that the link was hidden in the paragraph which couples him to Father Pfleger, ie:

“The reality was a little different. Trained in the Saul Alinsky method of organizing, Obama became quite adept at bringing the resentments and rage felt by African Americans against the white establishment to the surface:

There may be some in your readership who may wish to get a better feel as to why Obama has climbed the political ladder so fast, and how his skills were developed. The article by Lizza provides a good start, and further information can be found at TNR’s Home page search engine using Lizza’s name. That will bring up the Obama folder with more material.

It strikes me that Center Right folks have forgotten George Allen’s “Maccaca” moment. Screeds linking Obama to really, really bad people such as Father Pfleger, Wright and others, the old guilt by association game, may actually be counter productive.

The Center Right has got itself a monster problem. Behind the Hillary / Obama cat fight are the untold thousands of people that were registered during their political struggle. For McCain to succeed, he has to peal some of these folk away from Obama. I do not think it will be done by silly guilt by association attacks, look at the terrible things Michelle Obama has said, or saying he is radical in sheep clothing.

When the bells toll in November, it will be for the candidate that has failed to convince the populace that he has solutions to our many problems. Smearing somebody with silly labels may motivate the base, but it won’t cut the mustard with those who are looking for solutions.

I apologize if my snarky post #17 disturbed you equanimity. Although it tickled my fun bone, I should not have done it – times are really bad on the other side of the divide.You raised some valid issues, which in good conscience I should address. After all, blogs are way to share information, and correct miss-information.

Turns out I am not an economist, and I am unable to comment on the tax code in Sweden, or the other Nordic countries. But I think you and I will agree that the economic health of a nation, and its populous can be measured by a variety of indices, other than its nominal tax rates.

One index readily comes to mind is income disparity, which is commonly measured by the Gini Coefficient. A dive into Wikipedia will give you a short tour, complete with differential equations, of this index. As usual, Wiki’s strength is in its graphics and its annoying tendency to provide links and references.

One interesting point is the steady increase in income disparity between 1980 and 2006, the Gini coefficient jumping from 40.3 to 47.0 in the US. Thus the data points to a rising income disparity in the US since 1980. The rich are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking, and the poor are getting poorer. A color coded map will allow you to compare the US to other countries…

In the Nordic countries Gina index is clocks in at .25 to .29, indicating considerably less income disparity. But the Gina coefficient does not get back to your primary concern: The tax rate in Nordic countries, which you consider excessive. Before going there, to that dark mal odorous cave, let me bring up the issue of disposable income.

As we know, disposable income is cash left over after the necessities (housing, clothing, food, and of course taxes) have been paid. In the US, health care and educational expenses are paid out of disposable income, neither is considered by the government, and certain segments of the populace, as vital interest to the well being of the nation.

In the Nordic countries, health care and education is the state’s responsibility. The populace has made a social compact, the health of the nation, and the educational opportunities, are benefits to be distributed to all, not just reserved for those who have accumulated sufficient wealth to pay for these (there are other) benefits.

Back to that malodorous cave, where the black beast of taxes resides. An open mind, untainted by ideology, will look upon health services as Y goods for X dollars. If you are forking out X dollars for health care, it makes no difference whether the dollar comes out of your discretionary income, or whether the dollar comes out of taxes that you have paid. Stop, think of health care as widgets.

The populous of the US pays more for its health care widget than any other country in the world, by many different metrics the widget is defective in comparison to that available in other countries, and it too expensive to be affordable by up to 10% of the population.

Slice it, dice it, spin it, fudge it, the data is irrefutable. The US system costs more on a per capita bases than any other country in the world, and excludes participation by a significant number of the populous. No argument, finito.

The silly argument that we provide superior health care must be substantiated by positive proof, i.e., outcome measurements for the whole population of comparison countries with the US. If you searched for those studies, you would find them.

And I will close with your quote: “…months long waiting lists for chemo” … Please, sir, list the countries, enumerate the number of months, demonstrate how many have been denied such services because of inability to pay, or how many have had their treatments stopped because the insurance companies refused to pay.

Data sir, not rants!

PS: Why are Americans paying about two times for drugs than any other country in the world?

PPS: References and citations provided on request…

Comment Posted By Our Paul On 31.05.2008 @ 23:59

Your elegant and detailed post failed to bring forth the true horror of a Obama Presidency. Consider the fallowing:

(1) Having taught Constitutional Law at U. of Chicago he will have a slightly different view of the “Unitarian Presidency” than either Bush or John McCain. He probably would not use signing statements to point out “errors” in legislation, or direct the executive branch to ignore such failed legislation. He is a wimp, and will leave it up to the courts do decide such issues.

(2) We all know that while Hillary and McCain voted against a treaty to outlaw cluster bombs, Obama supported such a ban. This vote further points to his wimp factor. Imagine, just because such ordinance leads to significant civilian casualties, and persist for years, is no reason to ban it.

(3) I quite agree that the above described wimp factor will prevent Obama from stepping in if Israel decides to bomb Iran. The right to bomb anybody you feel like it because of an “existential threat” has been well established. Fortunately we have a President with moxie, Bush may decide to bomb parts of Iran first. I mean, if you are number one, act like it. All it takes is a pair of Texas oysters…

(4) The very thought that Obama and a Democratic Congress may turn their attention to Universal, Single Payer, Health Care is frightening. Can you imagine the turmoil that would arise if Insurance Companies were limited and regulated in their behavior? Is Obama incapable of understanding what a mess Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, Canada, Finland, and others are in… Sure, on a per capita bases these countries pay less, and by most measures provide equal or better health care to their populous than the US. But hey mon, they never get a chance to see the magic of the Market Place…

(5) The flippant repeating of “Yes we can!!!” and “Change!!!” is deluding and inflaming the populace. It was this kind of talk that lead to the excesses of the French Revolution. It is this kind of talk that will lead the great unwashed to disregard the need for a steady hand on the tiller, to stay the course.

Face it, Barak is a communist. Once you understand that, you really do not have to say anything more…